*
U.S. February jobs report in focus
*
Malaysian c.bank to hold rates at 2.75%
By Roushni Nair March 9 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies traded mixed on Thursday, with Thailand's baht leading losses, in the wake of a heavy sell-off on Wednesday after a string of U.S. data overnight and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The Thai baht and Chinese yuan each fell 0.2%, while the Malaysian ringgit , South Korean won and Indonesian rupiah were largely flat. Two bright spots, the Philippine peso and Indian rupee , each appreciated 0.2%. Powell, on his second day of testimony to Congress, reiterated his message that higher and potentially faster interest rate hikes will be needed to reign in sticky inflation. But he flagged that policy decisions would be data dependent in the run up to the Fed's next policy meeting in two weeks. In the United States, job openings remain elevated and private payrolls beat consensus estimates and demand for home loans increased despite the ongoing upward trajectory of mortgage rates. "We reckon numbers that are close to consensus could spur a sell-the-USD on fact reaction, conversely, an upside surprise could continue to support the USD," Maybank analysts said in a note forecasting the risk to be skewed to the downside. The dollar's rally hit pause with the U.S. dollar index , calculated against a basket of six peers, slipping 0.02% to 105.61.
Analysts expect the U.S. dollar to be volatile in the first half of 2023, which will in turn spur uncertainty for emerging Asian currencies. They however expect some stability in the dollar towards the second half of this year, improving the outlook for Asian currencies. Investors are waiting for the February U.S. jobs report due on Friday for the next cues on the trajectory of interest rates. In Malaysia, the central bank is expected to hold its policy interest rate unchanged at 2.75% later in the day, according to economists polled by Reuters, even as inflation in the country remains above a target range of 2% to 3%. The ringgit has lost more than 3% against the dollar since the central bank's January meeting. Separately, former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was summoned to appear at the country's anti-graft agency on Thursday following allegations of abuse in stimulus programmes launched under his premiership. In China, data showed that consumer inflation slowed in February to 1%, the lowest rate since February 2022 and down from 2.1% in January. Most equities across Southeast Asia, tumbled as Powell's remarks kept risk appetite in check. Stocks in Manila , Kuala Lumpur , and Seoul all slipped more than 3%. Whereas, shares in China and India retreated 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. Equities in Indonesia and Thailand , however, added 0.4% each.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields rise 3.0 basis points
to 7.024%
** Bank of Korea expects monetary tightening to weigh more
heavily on growth this year
** China's February CPI up 1% Y-O-Y vs Reuters poll of 1.9% growth
Asia stock indexes and currencies
at 0436 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD %
%
Japan +0.34 -4.21 <.N2 0.56 11.23
25>
China <CNY=CFXS -0.18 -0.99 <.SS -0.31 5.95
> EC>
India +0.23 +1.04 <.NS -0.21 -2.15
EI>
Indonesi +0.03 +0.91 <.JK 0.44 -0.65
a SE>
Malaysia +0.07 -2.65 <.KL -0.28 -3.00
SE>
Philippi +0.15 +0.73 <.PS -0.36 1.85
nes I>
S.Korea <KRW=KFTC +0.08 -4.23 <.KS -0.36 8.35
> 11>
Singapor -0.02 -1.03 <.ST -0.26 -1.01
e I>
Taiwan -0.06 -0.33 <.TW -0.06 11.82
II>
Thailand -0.06 -1.35 <.SE 0.36 -3.01
TI>
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Graphic: World FX rates Asian stock markets ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru)
